Penn State researchers say food binging may predispose a person to drug addiction.

You can see some similarities between food binging and drug
addiction, especially in the way both conditions cause a loss of control over
behaviors.

But though the two conditions appear similar, does having
one predispose a person to get the other?

The Experiment

Hoping to answer this question, Penn State researchers
developed an animal model study to see whether a history of binge eating
increased a person’s susceptibility for cocaine addiction.

A number of lab rats were divided into 4 experimental
groups. All groups had continual access to nutritional chow.

One group received only the healthy food

One group received occasional access to supplementary fatty
food

One group received continual access to supplementary fatty
food

One group received access to supplementary fatty food for
one hour per day, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (The food binging group)

Although the group who had continuous access to fatty food
consumed the greatest quantity of this food overall, the rats given thrice a
week limited were the most likely to binge.

Once food consumption patterns became established, all rats
were then given access to cocaine.

The rats in the food binging group took the most cocaine,
continued for longest to try and get cocaine once it was no longer available
and worked the hardest to earn a dose of cocaine.

Under normal circumstances, about 20% of rats given access
to cocaine will develop addiction-like behaviors. Among the binge eating rats,
50% developed addiction like behaviors.

Commenting on the significance of the findings, lead author Patricia
Sue Grigson, Ph.D, noted, “While the underlying mechanisms are not known, one
point is clear from behavioral data: A history of bingeing on fat changed the
brain, physiology, or both in a manner that made these rats more likely to seek
and take a drug when tested more than a month later. We must identify these
predisposing neurophysiological changes.”

Helpful Reading:

What do you do when the person you love gets consumed by a disease (addiction) that's beyond your control? How do we know when it's time to leave and how do you manage to adjust to life without your actively addicted partner?